“’He’s wearing earmuffs, and it’s warm out so I’m guessing he’s a r*tard.’ Days like these make me realize there is so much work to still be done.”
‘Remember my son’s name, because he taught the world that there is no shame in being autistic or being different.’: Mom expresses need for understanding after mean comment
‘In the children’s ward, I learned to play the piano by ear. I discovered a whole new side of me, and there was no going back.’: Visually impaired DJ, musician shares sight loss journey
“If my vision fails, I know I can still play and teach. That is what keeps me going. There is no plan B. There is only this.”
‘I sat up for weeks on end googling ‘how to be happy.’ I was looking for happiness in every single place except from within.’: Traumatic brain injury survivor overcomes battle with depression after break-up
“Without even realizing it, my whole identity was that relationship. So when the relationship came to an end, I almost did too. I didn’t know who I was, what I liked, or where I was heading.”
I’m The Girl With Retinitis Pigmentosa Growing Blinder Each Day
“Society’s expectations for blind and visually impaired people are extremely harmful and outdated.”
You Can Move On From Grief, Without Leaving It Behind
“During my mom’s ten-year battle with Alzheimer’s, I put my life on hold in so many ways that I stopped living it altogether. I eventually realized just getting by was no way to live my one and only life. I felt like moving on meant leaving her behind, but I eventually learned I had it all wrong.”
In Our House, We Chose The Dinner Table
“Autism makes you choose things. It makes you look at your life and decide what matters—what you’re willing to work for and sweat for and defend and build. Through all the chatter and the plates and the food, we told this boy that here, in this house with this table and this family, he matters. He matters.”
To Anyone Contemplating Suicide, Please Stay
“You are loved. You are wanted. Life doesn’t always have to be this hard. And there is more than one way to remove the pain and suffering you’re experiencing.”
‘Never hearing her call me ‘Mommy’ is something I will never be able to completely accept.’: Mom opens up on caring for daughter with chromosome duplication, special needs
“Sleeping in hospital chairs, riding with our child in the back of an ambulance, learning to understand a non-verbal child…we wouldn’t change it for anything.”
‘Sarah will always be my baby sister and best friend.’: Woman grieving loss of sister fundraises for Addison’s Disease Awareness
“A patient mentioned she could not wait to get home because she missed walking at sunrise with her best friend. When Sarah’s shift ended, she clocked out, got two coffees, and sat with the patient, watching the sunrise. She did not ever do these extra things out of pity. It’s just the type of person she was.”
‘It’s been less than a month. I can’t do this.’ I wasn’t ready to have a baby. I had a LOT of trauma to sort through.’: Hostage survivor shares accepting pregnancy only weeks after rescue
“He was the manifestation I had conjured up in my mind to give me something to survive for when I was out there in the desert all those hopeless nights. Motherhood came to me when it did, to save me.”